So I know I’m a little late to the show but as most of you know, BTS recently performed at the AMAs. Many people took to Twitter to comment on the boys and their performance with mostly great (as far as I saw) reviews.

Unfortunately, there were not so great things said as well. Those who just simply didn’t like the performance I respect because they are entitled to their opinions but I saw one verified tweet (which I won’t link or give a screenshot of because I don’t want to give this idiot attention) that said something along the lines of:

<all these kids are losing brain cells from Kpop>

First of all, it’s offensive but that’s not what bothered me.

Their implication that (primarily) English-speaking Kpop fans are stupid compared to fans of American music, however, did. It’s just not true in my opinion and this is a blog about why they are wrong.

Globalization & Language

Being aware of world issues and other countries is becoming increasingly important in our world with globalization. With the importance of trade and companies selling and outsourcing globally it’s better than ever for people to be multilingual and/or culturally aware.

Being a fan of Kpop can be good if we are looking at getting kids interested in being less ethnocentric and more open minded about other cultures.

As a BTS fan (and therefore a fan of an artist in the Kpop genre), I’ve definitely experienced a higher interest in learning more about Korea. As far as I’ve seen, this is a conman occurrence in Kpop fans.

Kpop fans tend to lean towards trying to learn the Korean language as well as learning about their pop-culture, food, fashion history. Because of course they want to try and feel closer to their idols in any way they can.

The fact that Kpop fans dedicate so much time to learning about another country that doesn’t even have the same alphabet as them, is pretty amazing.

For me, after learning about some of Korea’s culture I took an interest in many other cultures outside of mine as well.

Kpop opened the door to so many different languages and people different than my own culture. I will forever be grateful to the boys for making me more globally aware!

Side Note: while learning about Korea is a great thing be careful not to become a Koreaboo. Koreaboos are not only cringey and painful to watch but they also tend to be misinformed and tend to fetishize Koreans.

Keep an open mind when learning about others and always remember that you are never the expert on the subject. Also remember that your own culture isn’t worse or better than anyone else’s and your own heritage is something to be proud of because it’s how you were able to exist here today! ☺️

Life Lessons

I can’t even begin to name all the things about life I have learned through BTS (as a kpop fan).

Here are just a few:

Teamwork

<teamwork makes the dream work>

Voting and working on projects dedicated to BTS and ARMY has taught me how important it is to work with others. It’s hard to accomplish anything on your own in this world and relying on others when you need it isn’t a bad thing!

Friendship

Before becoming an ARMY, the idea that some of my closest friends wouldn’t even live in the country as me, or sometimes not even the same continent, seemed highly unrealistic.

After becoming an ARMY, I’ve met so many people living in all sorts of places, with all sorts of jobs, families and lives. It’s really beautiful to see international friendships form over a common internet!

(Thank you to all my friends, I love you!)

Hate

<sigh, fanwars>

Hate is a thing people generally don’t want to talk about when they talk about the wonders of Kpop, but let’s be honest, it’s unfortunately a large part of being in a Kpop fandom.

The fanwars, infighting and general negativity is more excessive than any other platform I’ve seen.

I try to look at the bright side of this. Even though all the hate can be painful (that’s fine, it’s meant to hurt), I feel you can take a lot of positive stuff away from the hate.

Learning how to deal with hate and negativity is an important skill to have in life and I’m thankful I was exposed to it before getting out into the ‘real world’.

The reality is, there’s a lot of mean people in the world. Learning how to not react and fall into a pit of hatred along with them is a great asset.

Arguing with what I like to call a ‘rabid dog’ fan will never get you anywhere except in a cycle of annoyance and anger.

Don’t bother arguing with them.

Read the comment, feel hurt and angry and then just think of why your favs make you happy. Why spoil the happiness with more negativity and fuel the haters fire? Let them swell in their pit of ignorance and move on. You’ll thank yourself for it later.

Hope

<What am I to you? -RM>

Hope can go under life lessons as well but I wanted to put it separately because for me,

BTS means hope.

Hope that I am capable to follow my dreams and passions.

Hope that I can be successful as a millennial, a generation set by most of society as damned to a life of laziness and no success.

Hope that I can make it through all the days I don’t want to go on.

And Hope that the world can become a more loving and supportive place.